Finding the Will to Live
by Eris87
Summary: Olivia was broken, alone, and afraid. She was found and taken in by a group, but past experience has taught her not to trust. Her plan wasn't to stay with them, though for unknown reasons she did. She had been ready to die that day, but with her new found friends she was finding the will to live and maybe something more. DarylxOC.
1. Chapter 1

How long had she been walking? She didn't know. She didn't even know what day it was or the time. She just kept walking until she found something. Whether that was salvation or the edge of a cliff she didn't care. She just wanted everything to end, but she was too much of a coward to end things herself.

She paused as the world started to spin. Leaning against a tree, she waited for the dizziness to stop. After several minutes, she pushed off from the tree and began walking again. She only took a few steps before her eyes became blurry. She rubbed her eyes hoping it would help, but it did nothing. Not paying attention to where she was going, she tripped.

Rolling on her back with her eyes closed she knew the end was near. She was finally going to die and she would gladly welcome it.

How long? That's a question she kept asking herself. How long had it been? How long would it be until she died?

She heard movement and knew she was going to die soon. It wouldn't be long now. What she was expecting, however, never came. Instead, she felt herself being kicked. It wasn't a hard kick.

"Is she dead?"

_Walkers don't kick people and they don't talk. _She thought.

Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was a gun pointed in her face. She then noticed the one holding the gun was male. A female stood a few feet behind him.

"You bit?" The man asked.

Without a word she stood up. The man backed away, keeping the gun pointed at her and standing in front of the other woman. She then took off her shirt and pants and turned around like it was a normal thing to do.

Not seeing any bites the man nodded. "Now put your clothes back on."

"We can't leave her out here." The woman whispered. "She looks malnourished. She isn't going to last long."

"Well, if she isn't going to last long…" The woman hit him. "I was kidding."

The woman approached her. "I'm Lori and this is Shane. We have camp not too far from here. If you like you can come with us. We have food and water."

She stared at them as she debated whether she should go with them. She had quickly learned she couldn't trust anyone, but they did have food and she was hungry. Of course she was willing to die just moments ago. Then again, maybe this was a sign that she shouldn't' give up just yet.

She nodded. "Olivia."

"It's nice to meet you, Olivia."

The three of them then began walking back to camp. Olivia followed a few steps behind them as she still struggled to stay on her feet. Shane and Lori were talking about something, but Olivia didn't care what it was about. Besides, her mind was on other things. It wasn't until she saw Lori walk up to her that she paid attention to what was going on.

"Shane can carry you. You look like you're about to pass out."

Olivia shook her head.

"I can help you."

Again, Olivia shook her head.

"All right."

They started walking again. Shane and Lori began talking as Olivia was once again caught up in her own thoughts. She didn't understand why they were offering her food. If they wanted something in return they were out of luck. She had nothing to give. That day, she had lost everything; everything she had ever known.

Soon, Olivia became lightheaded. She stopped as she tried to steady herself, but failed. She closed her eyes as she felt herself fall. The hard ground she was expecting to hit never came. Opening her eyes, she saw Shane had caught her. Olivia pad no attention to her surroundings as Shane guided her. When Shane sat her down, she glanced around. Surprisingly, there were a few people here. She was sure they were talking about her.

It didn't take long for Lori to bring her some food and water. "Eat slow so you don't upset your stomach."

Olivia nodded. Lori then left, probably to explain to the others about her. Olivia kept her gaze down. To her it felt like she was being judged and she didn't like it. She wouldn't be here long though. Just long enough to regain some of her strength.

Introductions were made when Olivia finished eating. Some of them seemed friendly, but others looked like ones not to cross. One of them grumbled about having another mouth to feed.

Discussion of where Olivia would sleep then came up. They didn't have an extra tent, but Dale said that she could sleep in the RV with him, Andrea, and Amy. Olivia glanced at the RV as fear flashed in her eyes, then looked at Dale.

"That is nice of you to offer, but I prefer to sleep outside."

"You would be better off inside." Dale tried to convince her.

Olivia shook her head. "I'll be fine."

That night as everyone went to sleep, Olivia stayed as far away from them as she could. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. This group seemed nice, but so did the last group she encountered. She closed her eyes as she tried to push those memories away. All she wanted to do now was forget.

Rustling brought Olivia out of her thoughts. She quickly stood up as she glanced around. When she didn't see anything she figured it was just an animal or the wind so she sat back down. Fear kept her up all night. Even the slightest sound made her flinch. She was also afraid of what the others might do if she fell asleep. Subconsciously, she twisted the ring on her finger as she wondered what she was going to do and where she was going to go.


	2. Chapter 2

When morning came, Olivia stayed where she was as she watched everyone go about their day. Lori was kind enough to bring her breakfast and then left her alone. For the most part everyone left her alone. There were a few times someone would come and try to talk to her, but she either gave one word answers or just nodded.

At one point Olivia was going to join them, but thought against it. She wasn't going to stay so there was no reason to interact with them. She continued sitting by herself, making pictures in the sand.

Olivia was soon snapped out of her thought when a ball rolled next to her feet. Glancing up, she saw a girl approach her. Without a word, Olivia rolled the ball back to her. Olivia then went back to her drawings.

"What are you drawing?" Sophia asked.

Olivia shrugged.

"Come on, Sophia. Throw the ball." Another kid hollered.

Sophia picked up the ball and threw it at the other kids. She then sat next to Olivia to look at her drawings, which were a group of stick figures.

"Is that your family?"

Olivia nodded.

Sophia looked at Olivia. "Why don't you come join us? You don't have to stay by yourself."

Olivia glanced at her. "It's…complicated."

"Why?"

"She's probably afraid of us."

Olivia and Sophia looked up and saw Merle walking towards them.

"There ain't nothing to be afraid of."

As he said that, Olivia couldn't help but feel afraid. He had a glint in his eyes that reminded her of the last people she had met. Merle took another step towards her and subconsciously Olivia scooted back.

Before anything else was said, another voice spoke out, "Merle, time to go hunting."

Olivia looked over at who spoke and saw Daryl. He hadn't been looking at Merle but at her and she immediately put her head down. When she looked back up she saw both of them were walking away. Merle had mumbled something, but Olivia didn't hear what it was.

"Daryl isn't as bad as he's brother." Sophia said. "But he still has a temper. Did you want to come play with us?"

Olivia looked at Sophia who had a smile on her face. She was still afraid of these people, but how could she refuse? Sophia reminded her of her little sister. Thinking of her sister brought sadness to Olivia. Before she could dwell too much on that, Sophia spoke again.

"Please, come play with us. I don't want you to be sad."

"I'll just watch you. All right?"

Sophia sighed. "I guess that's a start."

Olivia couldn't help but smile a little. She then stood and followed Sophia to the others.

"Olivia, it's good to see you join us." Dale said.

Olivia nodded.

It was strange seeing everyone interact with each other. With the last group she encountered everyone was aggressive. She still had bruises from when they roughed her up. This group, however, was different. Sure, they might get on each other's nerves and yell at one another, but that was to be expected. Even families did that.

Of course there was Merle. Olivia didn't know much about him, but she definitely didn't get a good feeling from him. It didn't matter. She would be gone soon.

Amy glanced over at Olivia and saw her nervousness. Wanting to make her feel better, she grabbed her hand. "Come with me." She also pointed at the other girls to follow.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asked.

"You'll see."

That only made Olivia more nervous. She never did like surprises and now that the world ended she hated not knowing even more. It wasn't long before Olivia saw water and she was sure that they were going to drown her. Before they reached the water's edge, Amy let go of Olivia's hand.

"I thought you would like to wash up a little. Also, I thought you may feel a little more comfortable around less people."

"We aren't all bad." Jacqui said.

Olivia put her head down. "I don't mean to judge. It's just that…" She trailed off.

"We understand."

Olivia sat by the edge of the water, cupping the water and pouring it on her legs. Some of the others sat next to her while the rest went into the water.

"Did your husband die?" Lori asked. Olivia looked at her. "I noticed your ring."

"He was my fiancé. We heard Atlanta had a safe zone so we made our way there. When we got there we found that to be a lie. We…we got separated. I don't know what happened to him."

"I'm sure you'll see him again."

"Hey, Glenn is heading back into the city to get supplies in a few days. Maybe he'll see your fiancé." Amy said.

Olivia said nothing as she continued splashing water on herself. After a few minutes she decided to make her way in the water. She went until the water came up to her waist. As she stood there, staring at the water, her thoughts went back to a time when things seemed simpler.

Before everything happened she had been preparing for her wedding. She had been talking to her sister that very day. They had been talking about wedding colors. Olivia was never one for tradition. She wanted colors no one would ever choose for a wedding. And she definitely didn't want a white wedding dress. Olivia could still hear her sister's voice at the joke she made, saying white meant pure and Olivia wasn't pure at all.

Olivia spent a few more minutes in the water, making sure she got all the dirt and grime off her. When she got back to shore she noticed Sophia and Carol were there, holding a bundle of something.

"I thought you would like some clean clothes." Carol said as she held out the bundle.

Olivia took the clothes. "Thank you." She then began to change.

"We also have lunch ready."

They began walking back to the camp. Olivia stayed behind them as they all talked about whatever it is they have to talk about now. They did seem kind. Maybe trusting this group wouldn't be a bad idea…then again, their friendliness could be just an act.

"You look lonely."

Olivia glanced down at Sophia. "I suppose I am."

"You don't have to be. Not anymore."

For the rest of the day, Olivia debated whether she should stay. If she did stay it could be for the better. Or she could end up just like last time. After debating for a while longer it wasn't hard to decide what she should do.

That night, she waited until everyone was asleep before she made her move. She wasn't sure where she would go, but she knew she couldn't stay here. Quietly, she stood from her spot and made her way to the center of camp. She grabbed some leftover food and a bottle of water. One last thing she decided to grab was an ax. Going off on her own she knew she would need some kind of protection even though she wasn't sure how well she could defend herself.

She only took a few steps before she stopped and glanced over at the tent Sophia slept in. The little girl had taken a liking to her and might be sad when she finds Olivia gone, but Olivia couldn't stay just for the sake of the child. People have changed and the world is different. She quickly learned that in this new world you can't trust anyone and no one was going to be there for you.

Olivia started walking again, but she didn't get too far before she heard a noise. She stopped as she looked behind her. When she saw no one she turned back around, almost letting out a scream when she saw Daryl.

"Where you think you're going?"

Olivia didn't answer. She was still trying to figure out how he managed to get in front of her.

"If you're leaving that's fine with me, but you ain't taking our supplies." He grabbed the food and water from her and then the ax. "You think this will protect you?"

Olivia still didn't answer.

"Leave if you want. I ain't gonna stop ya." He then started walking back to camp.

Olivia turned towards him. "Were you watching me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I was on watch and saw you leaving."

Olivia watched as Daryl made his way back to camp. As she stood debating, she remembered something her sister told her.

_It's important now more than ever to trust people. If we want to survive then we have to trust and work together._

That was one of the last times she spoke to her sister. Olivia was still unsure if she wanted to live, but she made her way back to her spot in camp. As she was walking, she noticed that Daryl was watching her. Neither of them spoke another word to each other as Olivia took her seat on the ground.

* * *

**I'm not sure I like the ending of this one. I kept on re-writing it and this is what I came up with. Next chapter will be much better. Reviews are much appreciated. ^_^**

**And thanks to Emberka-2012 for the review. **


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